Musings on music and other interesting things

Listening to SE Rogie today and trying to learn some of his guitar lines on “Twist with the Morningstars”. The echo soaked guitar tone and heavy use of double-stops reminded me a lot of the early Sun Records rockabilly players.

I wonder if these players were aware of each other?

and here’s a Sun Records side that’s got one of my all time favorite guitar solos

One common misconception about songwriting is that you generate the main ideas in one inspired session. Lyrics, music, and arrangement come flooding into your mind and your job is to transcribe it as quickly as possible.

While on lucky occasions I have stumbled on fully formed ideas like this, usually the process is much more like building a sonic Frankenstein out of odd parts you have collected. While putting all these pieces together may happen in a single inspired session, the generation of a bank of ideas occurs over a longer period of time.

I think the focus on banking ideas is often overlooked. So I say record everything. Every time you play your instrument and stumble across a passage you think is interesting, record it. Every time you hear or think of a phrase or rhyme worth remembering, write it down. Once you get in the habit of not letting any idea big or small slip by you will be documenting quite often. In no time you will have a huge archive of ideas to sort through.

The time to critique the idea’s value is not when you are documenting it. Come back to these saved ideas days, weeks, or months later. You’ll be amazed at the fresh perspective you have on something when you have forgotten about it and are listening to you would listen to a strangers idea.

“Please Go Easy with Me” is possibly the most charming song I’ve ever heard. Recorded by S.E. Rogie, the great palm wine and highlife musician from Sierra Leone. I’ve got a collection of his songs called, “Palm Wine Guitar Music: The 60’s Sound”, and every track is amazing, highly recommended.